The blogged journey of Andrew Jones since 2001

August 14, 2009

Francis DuBose, the Mystic on Main Street

The urban missiologist Francis DuBose passed away on June 20th this year, during my blog fast, so I didn't mention it. I remember him as a poet, an activist, a lover of the poor, the guy who added his Jesus revolution books from the 1970s to my library, and the teacher that brought the word "missional" into common usage. I worked with him in the 1990's in San Francisco at the Page Street Center. Last year I visited him in his "hotel" [a nursing home in SF] to interview him on video. More info and the video are here.

The word "missional" was first used, as far as we know, in 1883 but was glossed over until Dr DuBose revived it exactly a century later with his book God Who Sends(1983). When I told him that his use of the word "missional" started something that was now a global acceptance of the word, I could see that he and his wife were absolutely ecstatic and totally surprised. It was a real gift for me to be there in that moment.

"Missional" as a term that taps into the Missio Dei has done great service to the church. It has helped keep the 'emerging church' on track during the early part of this decade and has given some of us a vocabulary that has been widely accepted and used. But there has also been abuse of the word and now there is talk that it has run its course. Some have suggested the word is now dead and meaningless and we should move on. There is some truth to that, as I have blogged about before, and now that Francis DuBose has gone, I am happy to let the word pass on also.

But even if the word passes on, Francis DuBose will be remembered for his lasting contributions to urban ministry, and his way of expressing it. Here is one of his poems, selected by GGBTS in their remembrance of their famous Professor. I hope the DuBose family will forgive me for adding some of my photos to compliment the text . . .

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Francis DuBose, the Mystic on Main Street

The urban missiologist Francis DuBose passed away on June 20th this year, during my blog fast, so I didn't mention it. I remember him as a poet, an activist, a lover of the poor, the guy who added his Jesus revolution books from the 1970s to my library, and the teacher that brought the word "missional" into common usage. I worked with him in the 1990's in San Francisco at the Page Street Center. Last year I visited him in his "hotel" [a nursing home in SF] to interview him on video. More info and the video are here.

The word "missional" was first used, as far as we know, in 1883 but was glossed over until Dr DuBose revived it exactly a century later with his book God Who Sends(1983). When I told him that his use of the word "missional" started something that was now a global acceptance of the word, I could see that he and his wife were absolutely ecstatic and totally surprised. It was a real gift for me to be there in that moment.

"Missional" as a term that taps into the Missio Dei has done great service to the church. It has helped keep the 'emerging church' on track during the early part of this decade and has given some of us a vocabulary that has been widely accepted and used. But there has also been abuse of the word and now there is talk that it has run its course. Some have suggested the word is now dead and meaningless and we should move on. There is some truth to that, as I have blogged about before, and now that Francis DuBose has gone, I am happy to let the word pass on also.

But even if the word passes on, Francis DuBose will be remembered for his lasting contributions to urban ministry, and his way of expressing it. Here is one of his poems, selected by GGBTS in their remembrance of their famous Professor. I hope the DuBose family will forgive me for adding some of my photos to compliment the text . . .